


Shiver

by Jinmukang



Series: Whumptober 2020 [21]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman and Robin (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Animal Death, Dick Grayson is Batman, Drowning, Hypothermia, Near Death Experiences, Whumptober 2020, no.21
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:08:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27130219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jinmukang/pseuds/Jinmukang
Summary: Damian takes one wrong step, and suddenly Dick's finding a scream catching his throat as the ice finally shatters. Damian plummets with a yelp, barely able to be heard over the shrieking ice.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne
Series: Whumptober 2020 [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946413
Comments: 16
Kudos: 134
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Shiver

**Author's Note:**

> hello! im running out of clever things to say, so please enjoy this!

Dick doesn't know how it's led to this. Well, scratch that, he _does_ know how it's led to this. He supposes he just doesn't understand how a nice and fun snowball fight could’ve turned into this.

Dick stands at the edge of the ice, watching with wide eyes as Damian carefully shifts his balance. The ice groans under his weight, and for once in Dick's life he whishes Damian cared more for himself than for animals. That way, he'd drop the stray cat and make his way back towards solid ground. Three minutes. _Three_ minutes Dick turned his back, and next thing he knows he's here, watching the aftermath of a rescue gone wrong. 

The pond isn't deep. It goes up just a little further than his own waist. He’s used to swim in this pond all the time when he was little, on those rare sunny days in the summer when he didn't have school or anything to worry about. And it's just a short walk from the manor. It's always been a good place to just… go and relax outside and pretend Gotham wasn't just a jump across the river away. 

Damian is significantly shorter than Dick. If Damian fell in, his head would most definitely fall under the water. 

And Dick can't help but think _of course_ something like this would happen. It's Damian's first winter in Gotham, and probably his first time seeing this much snow and ice in one place. Dick took him out under the pretence that it was training for dealing with the snowy weather while out on patrol… but both Dick and Damian knew Dick just wanted to let Damian experience the snow. 

Just look at how well _that_ turned out. Damian’s about to experience the cold in the worst way possible.

"Careful!" Dick calls, his heart jumping in his throat as the ice creaks with every movement he makes. It's already snapped here and there. Cracks resembling a spider's web decorates the surface beneath Damian's booted feet. Damian tuts and shifts the cat in his arms so it's cradled closer to his chest. 

Dick wants to scream to let the cat go. Just let it go. Let it risk the ice on it’s own.

He doesn’t. 

"I know what I'm doing, Grayson," Damian argues back, but the fearful wobble in his voice is unmistakable to anyone who's known the kid long enough to listen for it. 

And Dick doesn't know what he should do now. Should he call the police? Fire department? How long would it take them to get all the way to Bristol? The roads here are one-laned, thin, and they wind around the hilly land and through the thick trees. With how much snowfall they've gotten this week alone, paired with the icy winds that attack at night… Dick barely trusts the Batmobile to brave the roads while they're unplowed. 

They're not plowed yet. It's not even noon. 

He needs to get Damian off the ice himself.

And of course, that's when it all goes wrong. 

Damian takes one wrong step, and suddenly Dick's finding a scream catching his throat as the ice finally shatters. Damian plummets with a yelp, barely able to be heard over the shrieking ice. 

Dick runs onto the ice, or as far as he's able before the now completely unstable surface threatens to break even more. He frantically searches the surface of the water, and while it only takes a few seconds for Damian to pop his head up and grab onto the lip of the hole around him with one band, he's also clearly just barely managing to swim. Damian meets Dick's eyes and throws up his other arm, holding the damned cat out by the scruff of its neck. 

"I c-c-can't-" Damian says, his lips already blue and his whole body shaking. The heavy coat around him, his boots, the cat, the sheer temperature of the water, it's all working against him. He can barely swim and he definitely can't get up on his own. 

Dick can't get any closer without falling himself.

But he can't just let Damian _drown_.

Without hesitation, he rips off his jacket, shirt, boots and pants. He then hits his heel against the ice and lowers himself into the water with as much control as he can manage. Damian shouts, but Dick ignores it and fully lowers himself in. The water is definitely freezing. Indescribably freezing. 

Dick pushes through it. It only gets to his ribs. He can ignore it long enough to get his _kid_. 

It takes longer than what Dick's comfortable with to finally reach Damian through the shattered remains of ice. Dick grabs him under his arms and tugs him up into his embrace. Damian's practically vibrating in his hold, clutching to the limp cat with what must be completely numb fingers. 

"I've g-got you," Dick mutters, then wades back towards the edge of ice he entered from. His entire body feels like it's on fire by the time he manages to throw Damian and the cat over the edge of the ice. They both slide a little until they reach far enough to be safe. Damian curls up and the cat still fails to move at all.

It takes close to seven tries to finally get himself over the ice and out of the water. Dick's shivering uncontrollably now, but he keeps _moving_. He has to help Damian. He can ignore his own freezing limbs until he knows Damian will be okay. 

First thing he does is force his shaking and numb fingers to strip Damian of his clothes. Damian hardly makes a movement, eyes barely open and far away. His lips are blue. He's not shivering anymore. 

Once Damian's mostly out of his sopping wet clothes, Dick wraps him and what was probably now a dead cat in his own dry coat. Damian, even while mostly unconscious, refuses to let go of the animal. He gathers Damian into his arms then immediately begins the trek back towards the manor, his bare feet stinging in the snow. 

He clutches Damian as hard as he can. He walks and walks and walks until he somehow makes it to the manor's back doors. Dick almost collapses against the doors, just managing to catch himself and lean against the wood. He uses all the strength he has left to hold Damian with one hand and open the door with his other. 

The wave of heat coming from the manor is painful beyond imagination. He finally collapses, just managing to make it so he lands under Damian. 

He blinks spots from his eyes and tries to breathe, but he can barely focus. Barely keep awake. Barely do a single thing other than hold Damian.

"Dear heavens!" Someone shouts, and Dick lets sleep take him.

-o-o-o-o-

Consciousness passes like a blurry, ancient slideshow. Flashes of light, the rumble of an engine, shouts. He thinks he wakes up at some point, but he can't remember what he did while awake, let alone how long it actually lasted. 

All Dick knows is that when he wakes up, he's incredibly cold and hot all at the same time. It's painful, his entire body pulsing in one giant headache. He forces his eyes to open, an urgency settling in his chest to check up on… on... _Damian_!

His eyes fly open and he tries to throw the hot hot _hot_ blankets off from his body, but he's immediately stopped by shouting voices, hands falling on his chest to pin him down. 

Desperately, Dick tries to make sense of everything. He's able to recognize the white walls and ceiling around him, the blue scrubs belonging to the nurse trying to calm him down. Somehow, against all odds, he's ended up at Gotham General. 

"D-Dami-" Dick tries, unwillingly falling back into the pillow behind his head.

"Master Damian is here too," another voice explains quickly. The nurse let's go of Dick and backs up wearily like she's afraid Dick will try and get up again. Dick flicks his eyes from her over towards Alfred, who's approaching with a face that definitely looks his age. "He's in poor shape, but we got him here just in time. The cat on the other hand… well…"

Dick has so much he wants to ask. Poor shape how? Where is he _exactly_? When can Dick see him? 

But he's so tired. Too relieved to know that Damian's at least _alive._ He won't be happy when he learns about the cat… maybe Dick shold get him another animal? He doesn't know. He can barely think straight.

He doesn't need Alfred or the nurse to tell him to sleep. He falls into a state of relaxation before anything more can be said. 

The next time he wakes, Damian is in the same room, looking rough for wear, but he's breathing. Alive. 

They both have massive colds once they're released from the hospital, Damian's teetering to pneumonia. 

But they're fine. Damian's alive. They'll both recover. Amd Dick couldn't be more thankful that despite the odds, Batman and Robin still stood. Dick and Damian still stood.

And nothing will ever change that. 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!!! i know that was a weak ending. im too tired to fix it at this point lol
> 
> please leave a comment before you go, i would greatly appreciate it.


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